Paula Broadwell given warm welcome on return to North Carolina home

Paula Broadwell's husband, Scott, drops a grocery bag while unloading their car at their Charlotte home, on Sunday, Nov. 18.

Paula Broadwell, the author believed to have had an affair with then-CIA Director David Petraeus, has returned to her Charlotte, N.C., home a week and a half after news of the scandal prompted Petraeus to resign his post.

Broadwell, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons were given a warm welcome by dozens of their closest friends and neighbors in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte early Sunday evening, representatives of the family told NBC News.

Scott and Paula Broadwell had been in Washington, D.C., since the revelation of Petraeus' extramarital affair gained national attention. Petraeus stepped down as the director of the CIA, admitting to an affair in his resignation letter.

Paula's focus right now is on her family, the Broadwells' representatives said, adding that she and her family are sticking together in this extremely difficult time.

Broadwell, who wrote a biography about Petraeus while he was in command in Afghanistan, had previously stated that the two of them had developed a mentoring relationship. A graduate of West Point, she met Petraeus when she was working on a Ph. D. at Harvard.

The investigation into the affair began when Jill Kelley, a Tampa socialite and friend of Petraeus, asked another friend, who was an FBI agent, to look into threatening emails she received from an anonymous sender. The FBI traced the emails to Broadwell and uncovered the affair, multiple officials told NBC News.

Jeff Willhelm / The Charlotte Observer

A neighbor welcomes Paula Broadwell's husband, Scott, at their Charlotte home on Sunday, Nov. 18.

Last week, the CIA Inspector General launched an investigation into the conduct of Petraeus. Acting CIA Director Michael Morrell ordered the investigation to ensure there was no wrongdoing and that no agency resources were expended improperly by Petraeus.

The CIA informed the House and Senate Intelligence Committees of the investigation on Thursday via letters from the inspector general.

"At the CIA we are constantly reviewing our performance,” an agency spokesperson said. “If there are lessons to be learned from this case we'll use them to improve. But we're not getting ahead of ourselves; an investigation is exploratory and doesn't presuppose any particular outcome."